Let Us Remember & Give Thanks…
Only three more days until we celebrate Thanksgiving! I wish we could sit down with a pumpkin spice latte and hear what you’re doing to prepare. We plan to host dinner for several family members this year, and since it’s my favorite thing to do, I’m planning to set the dining room table today!
Last year, because of Covid concerns, probably like you, Thanksgiving at our house was much different. Ron and I planned a pared-down menu, deciding on a few of our favorites. Although we missed gathering with family and friends, celebrating with a bit more simplicity than usual was nice.
While I love holiday hubbub, it’s easy to lose sight of the true meaning because like Martha, I easily become bogged down with “too many details.” (See Luke 10 for the story behind this comment.)
Thanksgivings in both Ron’s and my families were joyous occasions. The days were filled with lots of food, family, friends, laughter, chatter, and of course, football. Each year, Thanksgivings-past were remembered while new memories were created. Even though neither of us came from perfect families, my husband and I know we’re blessed to have warm holiday memories.
As the two of us sat at our Thanksgiving table last year, I told Ron once again about waking up Thanksgiving morning, knowing my dad was in the kitchen, clad in a white apron, grinding ingredients for his famous-in-our-family stuffing. I can still feel my eyes stinging from pulverized onions while inhaling the intoxicating scent of sage.
We chuckled as we recalled the Thanksgiving Ron’s mom finally sat down to eat after looking frantically for the serving bowl of peas. They showed up later in the freezer! I don’t think my sweet mother-in-law ever figured out how she’d managed that!
As we do often, we think of the memorable Thanksgiving Day we spent eating our dinners in two different hospital cafeterias. Ron and our daughter, Sarah, were in Spokane, Washington, with his mom who died less than three months later. I was in Santa Rosa, California, with our daughter, Angie, awaiting the birth of our second granddaughter. Our precious little ‘turkey,’ Mackenzie Kathryn, now a lovely young woman who will soon begin working on her master’s degree, arrived perfectly after a scary labor/delivery process.
This holiday, we’ll feel the sting of grief because two very special family members, who passed away this year, will be absent! The “firsts” we experience after losing a loved one are particularly bittersweet.
The last couple years have been difficult on many levels. It’s easy to focus on problems rather than blessings. Today I am grateful for the special reminder Thanksgiving Day brings.
